Snail Game, one of the developers behind the largest MMO World to date – Dark and Light (I play that too) licensed HighStreet5 to EagleGame for U$3 Million for South-East Asia, primarily for Singapore, Philippines, and Malaysia.
HighStreet5 is a new Casual Game from China, and another addition to the growing number of Chinese made online games being licensed to the world (competing directly with S. Korea). It is a 3D Dancing Game that (let’s face it) looks like Audition at first glance of the gameplay (but it is unfair to say it is a clone, because Bust-A-Groove is the original in this type of gameplay, not Audition). But the similarity ends there, in fact, that’s the only similarity I saw.
Follow up:
HighStreet5 or HS5 for short, is a full 3D Dance game. You can turn your camera around any way you want, zoom-in and zoom-out, or put it in auto-random-mode. And by 3D, it means you are in a 3D environment (or room if you will), thus you can walk (you really have to walk and go to the dance area before you can dance), face anywhere you want, be with your buddy or your partner.
You can also offer challenges,
in versus mode, two players can battle it out. (I haven’t tried versus mode by groups.)
A boy and a girl can become dance partners and do their Partner combo dance moves as a couple!
And you can also simply just chat, as the environment is a virtual 3D space, good for chatting (if you played in VRML Chats before, then that’s the kind of environment). While at that, or dancing, go ask your partner for a permission to view his/her webcam. You read that right – webcam (what I haven’t checked is if there’s voice-chat, but if there’s music playing, why would you voice chat?)
These are only but some of the many features of HS5. I barely explored HS5 and sure have missed a lot more of what makes HS5 different from not just Audition, but also with Super Dancer Online (known as DANCE! in the US/EU). The game is playable with a machine with only 512mb RAM and NVIDIA 7300LE, so don’t worry about that (it’s my specs), I’ll just update once I have the office spec requirements. Lag is good, even playing at the China servers, with a 1Mbps connection, unlike when I was testing Audition and SDO in a China server, I get noticeable lag, which results with errors (and I’m on a T1 at that).
(Scores and Actions/Poses)
Gameplay? Well, if you played Audition or Bust-A-Groove, HS5 is no different. You follow a set of arrows, then wait for the Metronom ball to hit the “Perfect” spot and press your “Space bar”. The moves? They are different, in HS5, dance moves were taken from Real-Life Dance Moves. There is Hip-Hop, Popin, Locking, and Reggae. With the addition of Single Combo moves and
Partner combo moves (you gotta see it for yourself!) There are lots of moves to learn. If my observation is correct, some moves randomly appear while you’re playing, but the chances are low. So best way is to buy it, either through the in-game money or through online-points.
Other features are special items you can use which have “purposes” or “functions” (which none of those I tried I understood what it does, coz its in Chinese). You can also buy items or accessories like headgears and earrings. Top and bottom dress, shoes, and item sets (there are others, I won’t spoil you).
HS5 also have this nice looking stats, which again I understand nothing until I get to see the English verison. Then you can also replay the dances you saved/recorded. See the top players, a cool “phone”-skin messenger and friends list. And, just play the game when the English version comes out. Oh, if you want to customize your controls, just wait for it a little bit longer, it is not available yet.
(Group Mode)
As always, what’s an online game without Guilds? Well, HS5 has a built-in guild system, and that’s all I know, I need to try it first to see the features that comes with it other than being a “guild”.
That’s it for now. This is the new casual game I am playing and so addicted with. HighStreet5 is actually eating my time for Tabula Rasa, but who cares? We play games to have fun, to relax, and to uplift our spirits. Watch out for HighStreet 5 in Singapore, Philippines, and Malaysia!
(Single Mode)
Oh did I mention that character customization is flexible? You can set your height and other body figures as you want during the character creation screen. And you might as well set your Zodiac Sign if you are looking for a boyfriend or girlfriend in-game, who knows it might help ya.
Regional site: www.HighStreet5.com/a>
Trivia: Do you know what HighStreet5 is called in China?